Reykjadalur Hot Spring Thermal River

Beautiful hike (about 60 minutes) to a wonderful thermal hot spring river. Be careful if there’s snow on the ground it will cause the path to be very icy. Other than that it was an incredible place to spend a few hours soaking in the hot water.

The hike to reach this hot river is very easy, takes around 1h from the car park and offers incredible views over the valley. Once you reach the river you can find many different spots with different water temperatures where to have a bath. An incredible experience to be absolutely done.

Beautiful. Went in early January and was greeted with clear skies and sunshine. The hike up is about 1 hour and gets steep at some parts, but is very doable. The springs are lovely and the changing area modest. It is very well kept.

Feb, 2024.
The river was amazing, hot, super relaxing, and an amazing view! I would describe the hike as fairly difficult, with over 300m of elevation, and about 4km of hiking to get to the river. The path was narrow, and icy in spots. The wind was strong, blowing drifts over the path in some places. I was with my mother and we got there in around 1h15; for faster group you could do it in an hour or less. Overall I would 100% recommend this, but maybe not for children or the elderly.

I tracked the hike with strava. Here is the link: https://strava.app.link/pdt5Kjs2oHb

It was one of the best foot trips I did in Iceland. A road with snow and ice, very quiet and in love with nature. In the end enjoy the river bath.

Beautiful place! 3.5km hike up to the Hot Spring Thermal River, it took us about 1hr 20 minutes. Once we got there it was very much worth it. The water was super hot, with the beautiful surroundings it was hard to leave! Photos from our trip the first week of February!

As in the pictures form the start of the hike was a amazing rainbow right from the start. Really cool. There hot spring holes with smoke coming out of them throughout the hike and the river you follow up is also a thermal river. Careful cause some spot are two hot to swim or even touch. The only spot to swim is at the end where there’s boardwalks and little changing covers. Which leads me too being able to soak at the thermal soaking pools in the river at a end of a hike is the most amazing thing and experience. Just so amazing and the water felt amazing, there are some colder spots and some spot where to too hot to even sit in, as well as there are some deeper spots and some not so deep spots. This place gets packed as well so I’m assuming the earlier you go the better. There’s a beautiful valley throughout the hike and a water about 2/3erds of the hike in! It’s not to long of a hike about two hours there and back and how ever long it takes you to soak but the first 30-40 miles is a bit of a workout out up hill, I was there for about a little over three hours. You also have to pay for parking, but you pay after the hike and the parking lot camera system tracks your time there

Wonderful place. About a 30 min hike from the carpark but its worth it. The walk itself is brilliant, you pass some mudpots and geysers. The river is warm, the further up stream you go the hotter it is. There are places to change and some boardwalks to make it easier to walk. All in all a magical place and a must do for the walk/hike and the river. We spend a half day relaxing here.

The hike can be a bit steep at times but its worth it! The hot spring is amazing, the closer you get to the source the hotter it will be. Be careful when its cold, there were extremely slippery icey parts once you got closer to the spring, we all ended up falling at some point! Ice spikes recommended.

A must do!!! Did hike early in the day in middle of January. Was very windy early into the hike, but much less windy at the hot spring. Beautiful hike with winter colors. Once you hike to the hot spring, you’ll want to take a layer or two off and jump in.

Easy hike on a wide, groomed gravel path. We took our time to take photos along the way and arrived at the river after just over 1 hour. Walking through this scenic landscape with steam coming out of the ground and then soaking for a while in the hot water, surrounded by snow and with some fresh snowfall, was a unique experience we enjoyed very much. The place was clean and not too busy on a weekday.

Really cool experience. The hike offers beautiful views with a hidden waterfall. The thermal river itself is just amazing: super warm, enough space for everyone. Worth hiking all the way up.

Beautiful trail that leads to a natural hot spring! Loved that there are bathrooms at the parking lot! Prepare for a long (but beautiful) hike! The hike is longer than we thought but it was rewarding! Stunning cliffs, views of the mountains, a waterfall and wild sheep! After a long hike, we arrived at the springs! It was empty on a rainy and cold day. The views around the spring is simply stunning. We enjoyed a long soak after the long hike before heading back!

Some tips:
- prepare for a long hike. Lots of steep upgrades. I would rate this a moderate trail due to the steep inclines. Might not be good for folks with walking issues or not in the best shape.
- bring snacks/water
- make sure to bring a towel and a change of clothes so you don’t have to do the long hike back wet!
- utilize the bathroom when returning to change if need be

Beautiful hike! And I was able to rely on the bus system to get here.
The higher up you go up the spring, the hotter it will get.
About 4 miles total, and the first 2 miles are completely uphill. I'd have brought hiking poles if possible because my knees were feeling it at the end.

Fantastic nature and the hot springs were maybe 38 degrees. Very nice. Some tourists go close to the edge of the cliffs to take selfies. Really dangerous. You can change clothes behind a treewall.

This place is amazing... But For the love of all this holy, go in the top entrance, even though it says it's four-wheel drive only.

Do not go in the lower entrance of you'll be hiking for 4 miles (6.4km) each way.

Oh, and take water!

We were told to visit the Reykjadular hot spring but we’re not advised with how tough to hike would be! I would consider myself a fairly active and fit person and parts of this trail were very steep. That being said, the hot spring river itself is beautiful and you get to see a waterfall on your venture up. Bring your own towels, and there is a changing room by the river itself. Worth a visit for sure followed by a famous Selfoss hotdog to make it worth it

Went in November when it snowed day before. Still had a good time as it's been on my bucket list. Because it gets dark really early, there's only tiny slimmer of light from the moon so bring a flashlight for the hike. We saw a helicopter on the way up (probably estimating the crowd) and then when we hiked back, the gate is closed (past 6pm) despite google saying this park is 24 hours open. We arrived here 3:30ish, hiked up, took a quick dip on the hot spring and trek down. Cafe is closed by then so ensure you have snacks with you. There's very few people at the time and at some point, we contemplated on not going. But then we saw 2 pairs hiking up so we carry on. A lone guy decided to go back midway. At the spring when we arrived there's probably 15 or so people. Glad we carry on!

40 min hike up from the parking lot. The hike is a bit steep but totally worth it! There are dividers to change in and the views while soaking in the hot thermals is amazing. We went in November and got to see snow while chilling in the river. Highly recommend!

This was our favorite worth the hike. The water was hot and you couldn't stay for long but luckily for us there was snow so we cooled on snow.